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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272719">Brainwashed Bros</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/samandbucky/pseuds/samandbucky'>samandbucky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brainwashing, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Reunions, SHIELD Agent Bucky Barnes, SHIELD Agent Clint Barton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:07:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,634</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272719</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/samandbucky/pseuds/samandbucky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky and Clint return from a successful mission, only to find that Bucky's childhood best friend (aka Captain America) has been recovered from the ice and is actually alive. On top of that, Loki pays a visit to Earth and brainwashes Clint. So, not only does Bucky have to worry about Steve, but now his brainwashed boyfriend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Brainwashed Bros</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Another successful mission. Well done, Barnes. You as well, Barton,” Coulson smiles at the two agents.</p><p>“Come on, just say it Coulson. You’re impressed,” Clint grins at his handler. “We completed a mission without anyone getting harmed or injured. I came back with no bruises for once.”</p><p>“That’s because you had me to look after your sorry ass,” Bucky speaks up.</p><p>“Barnes has got a point,” Coulson agrees, nodding towards Bucky.</p><p>Clint rolls his eyes and looks over at Bucky. “He’s impressed,”</p><p>“Alright. I’m impressed,” Coulson admits, rolling his eyes at Clint’s victory whoop. “Okay. Debrief is over. Take a few days off. You two have earned it.”</p><p>“Hell yeah,” Clint high-fives Bucky, and then he reaches over and opens the door. “I already know <i>exactly</i> how we’re going to spend our well earned days off.”</p><p>Bucky grins. “Great minds think alike,”</p><p>“Save the dirty talk for the bedroom, and not my office,” Coulson warns, glaring at the two agents.</p><p>Clint pouts. “You’re no fun Coulson,” he mumbles before leading the way out of Phil’s office. Clint looks over at Bucky and laughs. “I love making him think we’re that sex-crazed couple.”</p><p>“Well, I do love when I have sex with you,” Bucky replies with a grin as he walks beside Clint. “But, yeah... our relationship is definitely way more than just sex.”</p><p>“Got that right baby,” Clint leans over and presses a kiss to Bucky’s cheek, and then he throws an arm around Bucky’s neck. “So, I say we go home, shower, throw on a movie, make-out a little…”</p><p>Bucky huffs out a laugh. “You’ve really got this all planned out, haven’t you?”</p><p>“Funny seeing you two still here,”</p><p>Clint blinks a few times as he looks up to see one of his SHIELD teammates. “We’re always here?”</p><p>“Well, yes… I just mean, with the news making rounds-”</p><p>“What news?” Bucky asks curiously. “We haven’t heard anything new?”</p><p>“But, we also just got back from a mission like two hours ago,” Clint adds. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“Barnes, you’re going to love this,” the agent says, looking to Bucky. “They found Rogers.”</p><p>“Excuse me?” Bucky asks, feeling like his breath was just taken away by what the agent just said. </p><p>Agents around SHIELD knew better than to bring up Bucky’s best friend from the past. While Bucky survived his train fall in the 40s, his best friend Steve Rogers died a few months later when he took his plane down in the ocean. They’ve been looking for his body ever since.</p><p>Bucky was rescued from HYDRA by SHIELD and was taken in by them. Bucky’s been working for SHIELD since, and though Bucky is happy with his life now, he tries not to think about his past very often.</p><p>Clint glares at him. “Fuck off, Carson. This is not the time to joke about shit like that,” he warns.</p><p>“Whoa, relax dude. I’m not trying to make a joke. They found Rogers’ body, and he somehow survived. They’re calling it a miracle. They have him in the- Barnes?” Carson blinks a few times as Bucky takes off.</p><p>“Shit,” Clint mumbles as he runs a hand through his hair, unsure of if he should follow Bucky or not.</p><p>“Well, this kind of sucks for you, doesn’t it?”</p><p>Clint looks over at Carson. “What are you talking about, man?”</p><p>“I mean, Rogers was Barnes’ best friend from back in the day. Attached at the hip, some people say. Now with Rogers back into the picture, don’t you think it’ll be kind of hard for you and Barnes to-?”</p><p>“Steve and Bucky were never romantic, idiot,” Clint snaps, glaring at Carson. “Stay out of my business.” He harshly pushes Carson out of the way and heads towards the way Bucky went.</p><p>But, deep down inside, Clint knows that Carson is right.</p><p>From what he knows of, and what little Bucky has told him, he and Steve were childhood best friends. They did <i>everything</i> together. They were each other’s rocks, through thick and thin.</p><p>Now Clint has to worry about being pushed to the side like he meant nothing to Bucky.</p><p>They’ve been together for over two years now, and best friends since Clint started training Bucky when he first arrived at SHIELD, so Clint hopes that means <i>something</i> to Bucky.</p><p>Clint decides to wait a few hours before going to find him at the hospital where they’re currently keeping Rogers. He figured that Bucky would need some time to himself to take in seeing his best friend again.</p><p>“Hey,” Clint greets softly, walking up to Bucky, who’s waiting outside Rogers’ hospital room. “How are-?”</p><p>“It’s him,” Bucky mumbles, looking up at Clint, and Clint can’t really tell what Bucky’s feeling right now.</p><p>“That’s good though, isn’t it?” Clint asks, biting his lip slightly.</p><p>“They’re saying I shouldn’t be there when he wakes up,” Bucky mumbles. “They say he might freak out, because he’s been asleep for seventy years and the world has changed. I mean, I- I get it, but-”</p><p>“That’s bullshit,” Clint interrupts him. “If anything, you being there would help him.”</p><p>“No matter how much I want to, I can’t be in there. The doctors know more than I do,” Bucky says.</p><p>Clint takes a deep breath. “Okay, then. We wait. How long do you have to wait before you can see him?”</p><p>“I don’t know. It could be a week. Maybe even a month. However long it takes for Steve to adjust. Whenever he’s ready, I’ll be there for him,” Bucky says in a soft voice.</p><p>“Just like you always have been,” Clint whispers, gently reaching over to grab a hold of Bucky’s flesh arm. “In the meantime, it’s my job to be there for you. If you’ll let me.”</p><p>Bucky stares at Clint for a moment, quiet, before finally falling into his arms.</p><p>“Oh,” Clint frowns, instantly pulling Bucky closer to him and wrapping his arms tightly around him. It’s rare when Bucky ever truly breaks down like this, <i>especially</i> in front of Clint. It breaks Clint’s heart to see him break down like this, and there isn’t really anything he can do, besides be there for him.</p><p>The two stay like that for a few moments, before Clint softly pulls away, his arms still around Bucky. “Hey, how about we go home, and we just… watch a movie or something. You’ve had a long day.”</p><p>“I’m not going to be able to relax until I know Steve’s alright,” Bucky protests.</p><p>“We’ll have our phones on hand. They’ll call us if anything changes. They <i>will</i>,” Clint assures him. “I’ll text Fury to let us know as soon as Rogers wakes up, and he’ll tell us, okay?”</p><p>Bucky takes a deep breath before slowly nodding. “Okay,” he says in defeat.</p><p>“Okay,” Clint whispers, gently taking Bucky’s hand in his own. “Let’s go home, Buck.”</p><p>Luckily Clint gets Bucky home in one piece. Bucky’s completely drained from their exhausting day, so it’s no surprise when he falls onto the couch and completely crashes.</p><p>Clint sighs softly as he walks up to Bucky, feeling awful for his boyfriend and wishing there was something he could do for him to make him feel better. But, he knows nothing will work until Steve wakes up.</p><p>Steve. <i>Steve fucking Rogers.</i></p><p>Clint never thought he’d live to see the day where they found Captain America’s body.</p><p>Clint has no idea how Steve being alive is going to affect his and Bucky’s current relationship, but he just prays to God that Bucky will still love him even after he reunites with Steve.</p><p>****</p><p>It takes a total of three whole days before Clint hears back from Fury about Steve waking up.</p><p>There’s currently a video going viral on the internet of Steve that someone took and posted, of the moment when he ran out into the streets, clearly confused and it <i>hurts</i> Bucky to see him like that.</p><p>Bucky and Clint immediately drive to the hospital to see what’s going on with Steve.</p><p>Even though Bucky’s positive they’re going to deny him access to seeing Steve.</p><p>“Gentlemen,” Fury greets as Bucky and Clint walk straight up to him.</p><p>“Cut the bullshit, Fury. Where’s Steve?” Bucky demands as he crosses his arms against his chest.</p><p>Fury sighs. “He’s back in his hospital room. We’ve managed to calm him down,”</p><p>“You’ve <i>managed</i> to calm him down?” Bucky asks with worry in his voice.</p><p>“Not like that, Barnes. We didn’t drug him,” Fury assures him. “He’s awake. We have a doctor with him. He’s obviously confused, and this is overwhelming for him, waking up in a completely different time. Rogers doesn’t understand, but we’re thinking he’s going to bounce back once he fully gets adjusted.”</p><p>“But, you’re going to let him rest, right?” Bucky asks, not caring that his overprotectiveness over Steve is showing. “He needs to rest, and have time to recover after everything he’s been through.”</p><p>“Of course, that’s what we’re going to suggest for him, but something tells me he’ll be stubborn,”</p><p>Bucky scoffs. “Stubborn is Steve’s middle name, trust me,” he says. “I spent years forcing that kid to lay in bed every single time he got sick, or when he was too stubborn to back down from a fight-” He stops when Clint places a hand on his arm. “He’s- yeah, he’s a stubborn idiot.”</p><p>Clint chuckles, and then he looks over at Fury. “Will Bucky be allowed to see him now that he’s awake?”</p><p>Fury stares at Clint, before looking over at Bucky. “It might be best to wait. Give him time…”</p><p>Bucky sucks in a deep breath, trying not to show the disappointment on his face, before slowly nodding. “If that’s what he needs,” he whispers. “Then, time is what I’ll give him.”</p><p>Clint frowns. “You’re allowed to be upset, Buck,”</p><p>Bucky looks over at Clint. “Yeah, but what’s that going to do? It won’t change the fact that I can’t see him,”</p><p>“You need to distract your mind. I’ll see if there’s any missions that need taken care of,” Fury says.</p><p>Clint nods gratefully at Fury. “Thanks,” he says. “Call us as soon as <i>anything</i> changes with Rogers. I don't care how big or small.”</p><p>“You’ll be the first ones we call,” Fury says before turning and walking away.</p><p>Bucky sighs, and turns to look at Clint. “I’m fucking stressed,”</p><p>“I know, babe,” Clint mumbles, gently rubbing Bucky’s arm. “What can I do to help?”</p><p>Bucky pouts and turns to bury his face in Clint’s arm. “Cuddles,” he mumbles. “And maybe sex.”</p><p>Clint snorts in response. “You dirty dog, Barnes. Let’s go home,” he says, wrapping his arms around Bucky and leading the way out of the hospital.</p><p>Over the next few days, Clint does everything he can to distract Bucky’s thoughts from Steve.</p><p>Days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months.</p><p>And then Loki comes into the picture, on top of everything else. And Clint goes on a mission, and Bucky is furious and angry, and <i>worried</i>. That’s when he hears about the Avengers for the first time.</p><p>“What exactly are you doing to make sure we get Clint back?” Bucky asks angrily as he stands with Fury in one of the meeting rooms on the quinjet, awaiting the other Avengers’ arrival.</p><p>“I am doing everything that I can Barnes,” Fury hisses.</p><p>“Well you’re not doing enough!” Bucky shouts as he slams his fist on the table.</p><p>Fury sighs when he sees the very visible dent on the table. “You’re paying for any damage…”</p><p>“I don’t care about any damage. I care about getting my boyfriend back,” Bucky retorts. He looks over when he hears footsteps and sees two men walking into the room with a redheaded woman, who Bucky knows as Natasha. She’s very close to Clint, and he knows she’s just as upset as he is.</p><p>Then, Bucky recognizes one of the men, because it’s Steve. Steve Rogers. His childhood best friend who he thought was dead the past seventy years, someone he thought he’d never see again. Yet, here he is.</p><p>The two finally lock eyes with each other for the first time in decades, and Bucky feels like his breath has been taken away. Fury didn’t tell him anything about Captain America being a part of the Avengers.</p><p>“Bucky?” Steve asks with shock, slowly stepping closer to him.</p><p>Bucky’s eyes widen as he looks over at Fury. “You- You didn’t tell me…”</p><p>“I didn’t. I needed your head to be in the right space to help get Barton back,” Fury tells him. “I knew if you found out about Rogers joining us then you wouldn’t be able to focus on the mission at hand.”</p><p>Bucky looks over at Steve, and takes a deep breath. “Steve?”</p><p>“How?” Steve asks, shaking his head. “This- This can’t be possible… I watched you fall.”</p><p>“Yeah, I fell,” Bucky confirms. “The serum helped me survive, and I was rescued by SHIELD after Hydra tried to turn me into their little puppet. You were already gone by the time SHIELD rescued me.”</p><p>“You’re alive,” Steve breathes before throwing his arms around Bucky and hugging him tightly.</p><p>Bucky chuckles, and then he closes his eyes, tears threatening to fall out of his eyes. He’s been waiting for this moment for months, to finally be able to see Steve again.</p><p>“I’m alive,” Bucky whispers, squeezing Steve tightly.</p><p>“I’d hate to break this up-” Fury begins, and Bucky closes his eyes as he tries not to be annoyed with Fury. “But, we do have an important matter to deal with, which includes your boyfriend, Barnes.”</p><p>“<i>Boyfriend?</i>” Steve asks as he pulls away from the hug, blinking a few times as he looks at Bucky.</p><p>Bucky laughs. “Yeah, surprise… I’m gay as fuck, and now I have a boyfriend who’s mind has been taken over by some alien God who calls himself Loki. Not exactly how I wanted our reunion to go, but…”</p><p>Steve shakes his head. “I need to meet the fella who managed to get <i>you</i> to settle down,”</p><p>“<i>Settle down</i>,” Fury repeats, scoffing. “You two are going to have to continue this reunion later. Barnes, you clearly already know Rogers. This is Agent Romanoff and Dr. Bruce Banner. They’ll be helping us with the mission. We’re waiting on Iron Man to arrive. He loves to make an entrance.”</p><p>Bucky looks over at Natasha and Bruce, and waves a small hand towards them.</p><p>Steve frowns when he suddenly notices the fact that Bucky has a metal arm. “Your arm?”</p><p>Bucky blinks a few times as he looks at Steve, and then he glances down at his arm, and flushes. “Oh, uh… yeah. My arm didn’t survive the fall. They had to amputate it, and now I got this.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Steve whispers. “That must have been horrible to go through.”</p><p>Bucky shakes his head. “It’s fine. I don’t even remember any of it. Besides, it’s actually kind of cool having a metal arm,” he says, moving his metal arm around a bit. “I’ve gotten used to it by now.”</p><p>“Still, you shouldn’t have had to go through all of that,” Steve argues.</p><p>“Boys,” Fury warns, raising an eyebrow at the two men when he finally gets their attention. “Thank you. Now, we’ve got to get started on this mission. Loki is already on the move and we need to stop him before he causes anymore damage, and Barton has been under his control for longer than we’d like.”</p><p>“Do we know where he is?” Natasha asks, stepping forward.</p><p>“We’re working on it,” Fury responds, earning an unimpressed look from Natasha.</p><p>“Well, work on it a little faster,” Bucky demands as he glares at Fury, which surprises Steve. “This is my boyfriend we’re talking about here, and not to mention one of your best SHIELD agents, and I’m sure you would hate to lose someone so important to the team.”</p><p>“We’re working on it, Barnes,” Fury repeats frustratingly before turning to walk away from the group.</p><p>Bucky scoffs, and then he glances over at Natasha, and raises his eyebrows when he sees the look she’s giving him. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” He asks.</p><p>“Hm,” Natasha replies, before shaking her head. “No reason.” She also walks away.</p><p>“I think it’s safe to say we have a lot to catch up on,” Steve speaks, looking over at Bucky.</p><p>“Yup,” Bucky replies, popping his p, as he also looks over at Steve. “<i>A lot</i>.”</p><p>“Well,” Bruce clears his throat. “Nice meeting you both. I’m going to the lab. Gotta get down to business.”</p><p>Bucky truly doesn't like sitting and waiting around. It’s torture for him not being able to do anything, but there’s nothing he can do when they don’t really know where Loki is, but luckily Stark and Banner have already started working on that part so Bucky hopes they’re getting closer.</p><p>“Come on,” Steve whispers, nodding towards the door, before leading the way.</p><p>Bucky takes a deep breath before following Steve.</p><p>Just as they’re walking out, they hear a loud explosion, causing them both to duck down.</p><p>“What the hell was that?” Bucky asks, glancing up at Steve.</p><p>“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” Steve replies with worry as they start rushing to help. Steve and Bucky rush to the main control center, where there’s been an explosion. People have been hurt and injured, and it’s clear that Loki’s made his move here. “What the hell happened?” Steve asks as he helps Fury up.</p><p>“Barton’s aboard the ship,” Fury replies, glancing over at Bucky. “He’s here with SHIELD agents, but they’re not on our team so be careful when you come in contact with one of them.”</p><p>“Clint’s here?” Bucky asks, furiously glancing around.</p><p>“He’s already on the move,” Fury tells him. “Romanoff’s already after him. Let her deal with him.”</p><p>Bucky glares at him. “You think I won’t be able to handle Clint?”</p><p>“Not at all. You’re more than capable of handling Barton. But, unlike Romanoff, I don’t think you’d be able to put him down if we needed to,” Fury explains.</p><p>“<i>Put him down</i>?” Bucky repeats, stepping closer to Fury.</p><p>“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Fury sighs. “Rogers, find Iron Man, you two need to take care of the engine. We can’t lose another one or we’re going to go down.”</p><p>Steve nods, and rushes off to go find Tony.</p><p>“What can I do? I need something to distract me, please,”</p><p>“We need to take out these SHIELD agents. Come with me,” Fury says, and Bucky instantly follows him, even though his gut is telling him to go find Clint, but he has to trust that Natasha will take care of him.</p><p>After successfully fixing the engine with Stark, Steve is in mission mode. He’s determined to find Loki, and take him down. He’s not giving up without a fight, and he knows the other Avengers feel the same.</p><p>Steve finds Natasha in one of the small guest rooms. “It’s time to go,”</p><p>“Go where?” Natasha asks from where she’s sitting on the bed.</p><p>Steve opens his mouth to answer, but stops when the bathroom door opens. He looks over, and freezes when he sees none other than Clint Barton walk out of the bathroom, towel in hands. Steve instantly looks back over at Natasha with concern on his face, and she gives him a nod. Steve looks back at Clint.</p><p>“Bucky’s looking for you,” it’s the only thing Steve can think of to say. He knows how Bucky gets when he starts worrying. Steve had to deal with Bucky’s protectiveness his whole childhood.</p><p>“I know,” Clint replies, sighing softly. “I didn’t want to look for him until I knew I was clear.”</p><p>“He’s good now,” Natasha confirms, standing up from the bed. “He’s with us.”</p><p>“And I’m ready to find Loki,” Clint places the towel down.</p><p>“You know how to fly one of these things?” Steve asks. Clint nods in response. “Then suit up.”</p><p>Clint raises his eyebrows as Steve walks out of the room without saying another word, and then he looks over at Natasha. “So, that’s Captain America, huh?”</p><p>“That’s him,” Natasha confirms. “Come on, let’s get ready, and get you to Bucky.”</p><p>Clint can’t help the small smile forming on his face at the thought of Bucky.</p><p>Bucky’s standing with Steve, all geared up and ready to go, when Natasha and Clint find them.</p><p>Bucky looks over and he gasps when he sees Clint, relieved to see Clint back to his normal self again and no longer in his brainwashed state. Bucky knows all too well about brainwashing. “Clint. Oh, thank God,” he immediately rushes over to Clint and he hugs him tightly. “You absolutely fucking idiot. I’m starting to think that you’re trying to give me a heart attack.”</p><p>Clint chuckles, wrapping his arm around Bucky comfortingly. “It’s not like I was trying to get brainwashed by a fucking God,” he mumbles. He pulls away and gently kisses Bucky.</p><p>“Yeah, he’s back,” Natasha says, looking over at Steve, who raises his eyebrows at Natasha curiously.</p><p>“I’m not letting you out of my sight for a very long time. I hope you know that,” Bucky warns.</p><p>“Hm. That sounds familiar,” Steve says, smirking when Bucky glares at him. “Sorry, Buck. You’re not having much good luck with your reunions today. Come on, we have to go.”</p><p>Clint gently squeezes Bucky’s arm. “We’ll continue this later. We’ve got a God to take down,”</p><p>“Hey, just look on the bright side-” Bucky begins as he and Clint follow Natasha and Steve. He looks over at Clint and grins. “We're officially brainwashed bros”</p><p>Clint huffs out a laugh in response. “You did not just say brainwashed bros,”</p>
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